In the United States, the organized grading of cattle and beef has become particularly important in the promotion and marketing of quality products. Administered by the United States Department of Agriculture, the grading system is used to assign a distinct level of quality to cattle carcasses.
Carcass beef grades include a “yield grade” and a “quality grade.” The yield grade, denoted by the numbers 1 through 5, generally refers to the degree of cutability of the carcass and serves as an indicator of the amount of closely trimmed (½ inch fat or less), boneless retail cuts expected to be derived from the major wholesale cuts of the carcass. “Yield Grade 1” represents the highest degree of cutability. The quality grade, on the other hand, separately indicates the palatability of the lean. Carcasses of steers and heifers may be graded as Prime, Choice, Select, Standard, Commercial, Utility, Cutter, and Canner, in descending order of quality; carcasses of cows may receive any of these grades except Prime. Bullock carcasses may be graded as Prime, Choice, Select, Standard, and Utility. Steers are considered male bovines castrated when young and which have not begun to develop the secondary physical characteristics of bulls, while heifers are considered young, such as less than 3 year old immature female bovines that have not developed the physical characteristics typical of cows, e.g., have not borne a calf. Cows are considered female bovines that have developed through reproduction or with age, the physical characteristics typical of mature females, and bullocks are considered young, such as under approximately 24 months of age, male bovines that have developed or begun to develop the secondary physical characteristics of bulls.
The highest quality grade, USDA Prime, is reserved for beef with abundant marbling (defined as flecks of fat within the lean muscle), thus providing a juicy and flavorful meat that also is tender. USDA Prime, for example, may have more than 8% intramuscular fat. Only a small percent of all graded carcass beef qualifies as USDA Prime. As would be expected, Prime beef is favored by hotels and restaurants, is a successful commercial export product from the United States, and also is available through retail sales to discriminating consumers. Because it represents the highest quality, beef certified as USDA Prime commands the highest prices in the market.
The carcass typically refers to both sides of the animal, whereas a side refers to half of the carcass including both a frontquarter and a hindquarter. From the standpoint of profitability the hindquarter cuts of the carcass, which represent about half of a side of a beef carcass, traditionally have been greatest in demand. In particular, the hindquarter includes the full loin with the short loin and sirloin, the round, flank, and kidney knob. Thus, the hindquarter is the source of the well known beef cuts including the top loin steak, T-bone steak, porterhouse steak, tenderloin roast or steak (such as chateaubriand or filet mignon), top sirloin steak, sirloin steak, tenderloin roast or steak, beef tri-tip, round steak, top round roast or steak, and rump roasts.
The frontquarter, which represents the other half of a side of a beef carcass, includes the chuck, rib, plate, brisket and shank. Products typically produced from the frontquarter include cuts such as the rib roast or steak, rib eye roast or steak, back ribs, skirt steak, and whole brisket. The beef chuck, shoulder/clod, although used for such cuts as a “Flat Iron,” “Petite Tender,” and “Shoulder Center,” is not considered to be among the wholesale cuts that is most profitable and in demand. Beef from the beef chuck typically is transformed into lower cost ground beef chuck for example for use in producing ground beef chuck patties.
Once a carcass has been graded as Prime, each of the cuts from the carcass retain that designation. Thus, cuts from both the frontquarter and hindquarter are graded Prime, including the less profitable Prime chuck. There exists a need to make use of the chuck to produce steaks instead of simply being used as roasts or being ground into ground beef chuck. Moreover, there exists a need to make use of the Prime chuck to produce Prime steaks instead of simply being ground into Prime ground beef chuck. Because of the demand for the more costly cuts of Prime beef—which for example restaurants and hotels prefer to offer to customers—the ability to make use of Prime chuck for steaks may lead to enhanced profitability derived from this portion of the carcass. There has been substantial industry interest in enhancing the value of the frontquarter. For example, scientists from the University of Nebraska and the University of Florida even conducted a study for the Cattlemen's Beef Board and analyzed more than 5,500 muscles of the beef chuck and round to assist in developing new beef products. Commercialization of the “Flat Iron” steak, a shoulder top blade steak cut from the chuck, is said to have resulted from the study. Nevertheless, the chuck is complex because of the number of muscles and associated fibers that do not run in the same direction as each other. Thus, despite the efforts to date as described above, there remains a need for additional methods of producing products from the beef chuck, shoulder/clod.
The “fabrication” of the beef carcasses is conducted in mass-production operations by beef packers, who harvest finished cattle purchased from feedlots and create primal, subprimal, and sometimes consumer-ready cuts. The beef then is distributed to purveyors/processors or retailers for further sale. Thus, there is a need for additional methods of producing products from the beef chuck, shoulder/clod for use in the mass-production operations.